From April 2011 to October 2011, a pharmacy technician working at a Costco pharmacy on Blue Valley Parkway in Overland Park, Kansas, stole controlled substances from the pharmacy stock. According to the plea, the thefts totaled more than 500 tablets of hydrocodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and approximately 200 tablets of lorazepam, a Schedule IV controlled substance.
To hide the missing drugs, the technician falsified the store's written controlled-substance inventories. The press release does not detail how the discrepancy was ultimately uncovered, but the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas brought federal charges.
The technician pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge of obtaining prescription drugs by fraud. On April 16, 2012, the technician was sentenced to two years of federal probation. The release does not mention restitution or any state pharmacy board action.